Sole and heel.



B. F. RHODES. SOLE AND HEEL. I APPL'IUATION FILED JULY 23,1914.

. 1,120,0 2, Patented Dec. 8,1914,

344W Byron 1'12 ZwcZes,

BYRON F. RHODES, OF ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR 0F FIFTY-ONEONE- H'UNDREDTHS TO FERDINAND KELLER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

soLE AND HEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

Application filed July 23, 1914. Serial No. 852,552.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, BYnoN F. RHODES, a citizen of the United States,residing at At lantic City, in the county of Atlantic and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Soles andHeels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements'in soles and heels, an object ofthe invention being to provide a sole and heel for boots, shoes,slippers, and all kinds of footwear for use by men, women,- and childrenin which the material of the sole is reinforced by a plurality of threadplugs, assisting the leather in sustaining the wear, and greatlyincreasing the wearing qualities of the sole and the heel.

A further object is to provide in a sole- :incl heel, a plurality ofplugs formed by heavy linen or flax cord impregnated with hot melted waxand extending through slits formed in the leather, each plug consistingof two parts coupled together between the upper and lower faces of thesole and heel, whereby an enlargement is formed which tightly, binds inthe slit formed in the leather and rendered impervious .to moisture bythe wax so that the plugs remain in the leather throughout the life ofthe sole or heel, and cannot accidentally'pull out of the leather.

A further object is to provide a sole or heel reinforced by an improvedarrangement of plugs composed of cord secured in the sole and heel in animproved manner, and when the sole or heel is in its finished state, areentirely independent one of the other, and the sole andheel areperfectly water tight and have the necessary flexibility to in-- surecomfort in walking.

- With these and other objects in view, the invention consists incertain novel features of construction and combinations and.arrangements of parts as will be more fully hereinafter described andpointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying. drawings: Figure 1 is a bottom plan view showing ashoe equipped with my improved sole and heel. Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryplan view of a portion of the sole illustrating on an exaggerated scalethe arrangement of slits to receive the cord. Fig. 3 is an enlargedfragmentary view in section showing the' arrangement of the cords asthey are connected, and Fig. l is a similar view showing the surplus ofthe cords on both faces of the sole cut away so as to leave in the shoethe series of independent plugs.

1 represents a shoe, and 2 and 3 the sole and heel secured thereto inany approved manner.

While my improvements are adapted for use in connection with any form offootwear, I shall describe the same particularly in connection with ashoe with the understanding that the invention applies primarily to thewearing face of the sole and the heel, and while inmost instances asingle thickness ofleather is all that is desirable for the sole, inmost instances more than a sin le thickness is desired for the heel inwhich latter case only the lower section of heel will be equipped withmy improved reinforce.

As my invention applies equally well to the sole and heel, I wouldhavcit under- ,4 which may be variously arranged so as to give to the shoeany desired arrangement of threads and plugs, but in any event the slitswill be formed at right angles to the direction of sewing. The slits lmay be formed by an awl of the proper shape working in advance of aneedle or the needle itself maybe so shaped as to form the slits, and Iwould have it understood that in the for mation of these slits, there isno materialcut out but merely a thin out formed through the leather forthe passage of the cords.

To form the series of plugs in the slits l, I utilize two cords 5 and 6.These cords as they are fed to the needle, are impregnated with meltedhot wax which penetrates the threads and also the fiber of the leather.F urthcrmore, this wax serves to entirely close the openings in theleather, and assists the plugs in rendering the sole water tight. Thethreads 5 and 6 are interlocked midway between the surfaces of theleather as shown clearly at 7. That is to say, the threads are loopedthrough each other and drawn two threads is located midway between tlsurfaces, and as this joint or coupling for a knot or enlargement, it istightly be tightly so that the coupling or joint of the or locked. inthe slot 4- and acts as .an anchor 'toprevent movement of the plug ineither direction. After the entire sole is provided with the desiredarrangement of plugs, that portion of the threads 5 a d 6 on the upperand lower faces of the lea her is cut away,

leaving in the leather a sefyies of independplugs would be securelyanchored by reason i of the joint or coupling, and no ordinary .wearcould withdraw any-of the plugs, and

the withdrawal of oneplug would not affect other plugs, as they eachhave their own independent locking action in the sole .and heel.

My improvements do not detract but rather enhance the flexible qualitiesof the leather, and in addition increase the wear of the sole to such anextent that the sole will wear, as long-as the upper and overcome thenecessity for hat-ing soles and heels replaced. 1

I would have it understood that my invention is not limited to anyparticular arrangement of plugs, nor' to the precise ma- -terials"emplciyed, and various slight changes might be made in the general formand arrangement bf parts described without departing from my invention,and hence I do ,not limitmyself to the precise details set v f rth, butconsider in' yself at liberty to make such. changes and alterations asfairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as-new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: v

'1. A sole or heel having therein a series of plugs, said plugsconsisting of thread, each plug being, independently anchored midway itsends, substantially as described. 2. A sole or-heel' having therein aseries of plugs, said" plugs consisting of thread, each plug consistingof two sections coupled between the surfaces of the sole or heel,substantially as described.

BJA sole or heel having therein a series of plugs, said plugs'consistingof thread, each plug being independent of the others and Me usa havingan anchor between its ends, substan with wax, substantially asdescribed.

6. A sole or... heel having therein a series of plugs, said plugsconsisting of thread, each plug consisting of two sections'coupledbetween the surface of the sole or heel, said plugs being located inslits in the sole or heel and impregnated with wax, substantially asdescribed.

7. A sole or heel having therein a series of plugs, said plugsconsisting of thread,

8510-111" plug being independent of the others," said plugs beinglocated in slits in the sole or heel and impregnated with wax, each plughaving an anchor between its ends, substantially as described.

8. A sole or heel having therein a series of plugs, said plugsconsisting of thread, each plug-being independent of the others andcomposed of two sections 'coupled between the surfaces of the sole orheel, said plugs being located in slits in the sole or heel, and

impregnated with wax, substantially as described. f 9. A sole or heelcomposed of leather hav- 7 ing a 'series of slits therein, andindependent plugs in'the slits, each plug consisting of two threadsinterlocked between the surfaces of the sole or heel, substantially asdescribed.

10. A sole or heel composed of leather having a series of slitstherein," and independent plugs in the slits, each'plug consisting oftwo threads interlocked between the surfaces of the sole or heel, saidplugs being impregnated with wax and filling the slits, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. I

BYRON F. RHODES.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE NICHOLSON, J. Geo. FRINGS.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G.

- midway its ends, said plugs being'lo cated .in slits in the sole orheel, and impregnated

